Options Trading News

Equity indexes surged yesterday, breaking through key resistance levels. The CBOE Volatility Index climbed with the S&P 500 for the final 90 minutes of trade but still finished lower.

The S&P 500 gained 16.54 points, or 1 percent, to close just off its session high at 1671.71. It has resistance at 1680 and support at 1627.

The Nasdaq 100 rose 36.55 points, or 1.17 percent, to a new 13-year closing high of 3169.93. It now has support at 3055. (When equity indexes are at highs, further resistance levels are obviously projections not based on previous trading patterns, so I will refrain from listing them.)

The Russell 2000 was up 16.53 points, or 1.61 percent, to finish at session high of 1046.08. It has resistance at the August high of 1063 and support at 1000.

The VIX was down 0.22 points, or 1.39 percent, to 15.63. It declined inversely to the SPX's rise until the last two hours, when the VIX bounced off 15.22 and then climbed from there.

The VIX futures were down even more. The September and October contracts both fell 0.70 points, to 15.80 and 16.80 respectively. This had the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Note (VXX) down 3.72 percent to $15.52.

optionMONSTER® provides stock market insight, advanced options education, and actionable trade ideas to meet the needs of do-it-yourself investors. After spending decades in the trading pits of Chicago, Jon 'DRJ' and Pete Najarian founded the company in 2005 to help people better manage their own investment portfolios.